Form 990 for tax year 2023

Totals

Total revenue

$13,785,521

Total expenses

$13,774,772

Contributions and grants received

$13,753,473

Grants paid

$389,300

Program service revenue

$0

Investment income

$25,837

Other revenue

$6,211

Total assets, end of year

$2,027,714

Total liabilities, end of year

$1,481,287

Net assets or fund balances, end of year

$546,427

Program services expenses (Part IX)

$12,540,904

Management and general expenses

$1,233,868

Fundraising expenses

$0

Program service expenses (Part III)

$12,540,904

Program services were 91.0% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

Line items

Every line the filer filed in Parts VIII, IX and X, as filed and in filed order. Blank columns are left out, and the lines are not forced to add up to the totals above.

Mission and programs · 2023

• CONSUMER ENGAGEMENTTHE OBJECTIVE OF RBFF'S CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS IS TO INCREASE PARTICIPATION IN RECREATIONAL BOATING AND FISHING BY RECRUITING NEW AUDIENCES THROUGH A NATIONAL MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS CAMPAIGN DESIGNED TO INCREASE AWARENESS OF FISHING, BOATING, AND NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION; DISPEL NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES; AND ENCOURAGE CONSIDERATION, TRIAL, AND ULTIMATELY, PARTICIPATION.SEE SCHEDULE OCONSUMER ENGAGEMENT (CONT'D) TAKE ME FISHING IS THE BRAND THAT CARRIES RBFF'S MESSAGES AND THE APPEAL OF BOATING AND FISHING TO GENERAL MARKET CONSUMERS. THE BACKBONE OF THE BRAND IS THE TAKEMEFISHING.ORG WEBSITE, WHICH FEATURES GREATER OPTIMIZATION FOR ALL SCREEN SIZES AND FORMATS, MORE PROMINENT STATE INFORMATION, HOW-TO VIDEOS, AND AN UPDATED RESOURCE CENTER FOR STAKEHOLDERS. THE WEBSITE'S NEW LOOK INCLUDES MORE CONTENT TARGETING WOMEN, SUCH AS BLOGS AND A DEDICATED CAMPAIGN PAGE, RESULTING IN 32 MILLION VISITS AND SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN REFERRALS TO STATE LICENSE AND REGISTRATION PAGES. ACROSS THE TAKE ME FISHING WEBSITE AND IN ADS, PSAS, TV, VIDEO, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND EVENTS, THE TAKE ME FISHING BRAND REACHES AND MOTIVATES MILLIONS OF PEOPLE TO ENJOY BOATING AND FISHING. TAKE ME FISHING ALLIANCES HELP RBFF AND SELECT THIRD PARTIES LEVERAGE EACH OTHER'S BRAND APPEAL AND REACH A GREATER NUMBER OF CONSUMERS THAN THEY COULD ON THEIR OWN. THE ONGOING ALLIANCE WITH WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT INCLUDES GUIDED FISHING EXCURSIONS AND MEDIA BUYS ON DISNEY CHANNELS, ENHANCING BRAND EXPOSURE AND ENGAGEMENT. NEW INITIATIVES LIKE CAMP TAKE ME FISHING ATTRACTED 300 GUESTS, AND GEOLOCATOR ADS ON DISNEY'S HULU CHANNEL OUTPERFORMED BENCHMARKS. OTHER TAKE ME FISHING PARTNERS INCLUDE THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE (USFWS), U.S. FOREST SERVICE, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, NOAA AND FISHING LEAGUE WORLDWIDE (FLW). THESE ALLIANCES ANNUALLY PRODUCE MORE THAN 1,500 CONSUMER-EVENT UPLOADS TO TAKEMEFISHING.ORG.IN FY24, RBFF LAUNCHED THE FIND YOUR BEST SELF ON THE WATER CAMPAIGN, TARGETING WOMEN BY HIGHLIGHTING THE BENEFITS OF FISHING. THIS CAMPAIGN INVITED WOMEN TO FEEL HAPPIER, HEALTHIER, AND FULLY WELCOME AS THEY PARTICIPATED IN FISHING, POTENTIALLY BRINGING THEIR FAMILIES ALONG AND MULTIPLYING PARTICIPATION GAINS. RESEARCH INDICATED THAT A 10% INCREASE IN WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN FISHING COULD ADD AN ADDITIONAL $1 BILLION TO THE INDUSTRY. IN 2023, THE 1.7 MILLION MORE WOMEN WHO PARTICIPATED IN FISHING CONTRIBUTED $1.63 BILLION TO THE FISHING INDUSTRY. FIND YOUR BEST SELF ON THE WATER CONNECTED WITH MILLIONS OF WOMEN THROUGH INTEGRATED MESSAGING ACROSS POPULAR PLATFORMS, ACHIEVING SIGNIFICANT ENGAGEMENT WITH 2.89 BILLION IMPRESSIONS, 84.9 MILLION PAID SOCIAL MEDIA IMPRESSIONS, AND 35 MILLION CONTENT VIEWS ON TIKTOK. INFLUENCER POSTS AND RBFF'S PAID SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE RESULTED IN A 384% INCREASE IN CONVERSATIONS AND A 15.9% INCREASE IN THE FEMALE AUDIENCE.THE CAMPAIGN'S SUCCESS WAS FURTHER HIGHLIGHTED BY TOP AWARDS, INCLUDING THE AMERICAN ADVERTISING FEDERATION'S TOP 2024 BEST OF SHOW AWARD AND BEING A FINALIST FOR MEDIAPOST MEDIA PLANNING & BUYING AWARDS.

  Expenses $9,703,530

• STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENTTHIS WAS THE FIRST YEAR RBFF IMPLEMENTED ITS STRATEGIC PLAN TO CONSOLIDATE STAKEHOLDER STRENGTHS, IDEAS, AND ENTHUSIASM TO ACHIEVE COMMON OBJECTIVES. THIS APPROACH LED TO NEW EFFICIENCIES AND CREATED OPPORTUNITIES FOR STATE, INDUSTRY, AND FEDERAL AGENCY PARTNERS TO COLLABORATE ON INCREASING PARTICIPATION AND RETENTION IN FISHING AND BOATING. WHETHER TARGETING MULTICULTURAL MARKETS, ACTIVE WOMEN, OR LAPSED BOATERS, RBFF STAKEHOLDERS DISCOVERED INNOVATIVE WAYS TO RECRUIT, RETAIN, AND REACTIVATE PARTICIPANTS.SEE SCHEDULE OSTAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT (CONT'D) RBFF'S MULTICULTURAL OUTREACH INCLUDED THE FIRST CATCH CENTERS, WHICH BRING FISHING TO URBAN COMMUNITIES. THIS YEAR, 29 MOBILE FIRST CATCH CENTERS WERE DEPLOYED TO 24 STATES, WITH THE FIRST SALTWATER TRAILER IN SOUTH CAROLINA. ADDITIONALLY, THE GEORGE H.W. BUSH VAMOS A PESCAR EDUCATION FUND GRANTS CONTINUED TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN HISPANIC FAMILIES AND OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, SUPPORTED BY CONTRIBUTIONS FROM BASS PRO SHOPS AND MATCHED BY STATE AGENCIES.THE 2024 SPECIAL REPORT ON FISHING, PRODUCED WITH THE OUTDOOR FOUNDATION, REVEALED KEY PARTICIPATION FIGURES, SERVING AS A BASELINE FOR EVALUATING RBFF'S CONSUMER CAMPAIGNS AND COLLABORATIONS. THE FY24 STATE MARKETING WORKSHOP IN ATLANTA GATHERED NEARLY 200 ATTENDEES FROM 48 STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, SUPPORTED BY MORE SPONSORS THAN EVER. THE WORKSHOP FEATURED AN EXPO FOR STATES TO SHOWCASE THEIR MARKETING PROGRAMS AND BEST PRACTICES. RBFF INTRODUCED NEW DIGITAL TOOLS AND STRATEGIES, INCLUDING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT, AND INFLUENCER COLLABORATION, TO HELP STATES REACH DIVERSE AUDIENCES. INSIGHTS FROM THE WORKSHOP WERE SHARED THROUGH A VIDEO SERIES, MAKING THE CONTENT ACCESSIBLE TO R3 MARKETING PROFESSIONALS WHO COULDN'T ATTEND IN PERSON. ADDITIONALLY, RBFF HOSTED WEBINARS ON THE FIND YOUR BEST SELF CAMPAIGN, FISHBRAIN (ONE OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST ONLINE FISHING COMMUNITIES), AND EMBEDDABLE DIGITAL RESOURCES FOR STAKEHOLDERS' WEBSITES.

  Expenses $2,837,374 · Grants $389,300

As filed on the 2023 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Listed in Part VII

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those. A Schedule J breakdown is as filed: base pay, bonus, other, deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits from this organization, with any from related organizations beside each, and the filer's own total. It is shown with the Part VII listing of the same name on the same return. The form gives no key between the two, so that pairing is ours, and is marked matched by us.

Schedule J

Part I's answers as filed. A line not listed was left unanswered; on lines 1a and 3 that means the box was not checked.

Grants on this return

• SOUTHEASTERN ASSOCIATION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES (SEAFWA)

  $50,000

  R3 PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT GRANTS- SEE PART IV

• CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE

  $31,824

  GEORGE H.W. BUSH VAMOS A PESCAR EDUCATION FUND GRANT- SEE PART IV

• INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES DIVISION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE

  $25,000

  R3 PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT GRANTS- SEE PART IV

• ARKANSAS GAME AND FISH COMMISSION

  $25,000

  R3 PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT GRANTS- SEE PART IV

• UTAH DIVISION OF WILDLIFE RESOURCES

  $25,000

  R3 PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT GRANTS- SEE PART IV

• OHIO DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

  $24,500

  R3 PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT GRANTS- SEE PART IV

• TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT

  $24,332

  R3 PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT GRANTS- SEE PART IV

• FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION

  $18,000

  R3 PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT GRANTS- SEE PART IV

• GEORGIA DIVISION OF WILDLIFE RESOURCES

  $15,000

  R3 PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT GRANTS- SEE PART IV

• FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION

  $14,250

  GEORGE H.W. BUSH VAMOS A PESCAR EDUCATION FUND GRANT- SEE PART IV

The 10 largest by cash amount. The API serves every itemized grant.

Provenance

Return type

form_990

Tax year

2023

Filed

13 August 2024

IRS schema version

2023v5.1

Source object

202422269349302027

Check it against the return as filed: the GivingTuesday Data Lake hosts a public copy of the original XML.

The source document this was parsed from is served over the API, which is where bulk and document access live.